It is increasingly common to connect some form of mobile handheld device, for example a so-called smartphone, to a vehicle in order to e.g. start/stop different functions in the vehicle (e.g. a heater), to activate/deactivate the vehicle alarm, to lock/unlock the vehicle and to control the status for different functions in the vehicle and also to adjust e.g. the driver's seat, the steering wheel and the rear-view mirrors according to the given driver's personal preferences. The device is normally connected to a vehicle by a person who owns or usually drives it.
In connection with the pairing (i.e. the establishment of the connection) with the vehicle, often some form of input is required to the mobile device in order to correctly identify the vehicle, where the input may comprise the vehicle's chassis number or another identity. Further, the driver may be required to identify himself by inserting a PIN code. Communication is via a mobile network, for example the 3G network, and entails for example that the information is verified by a server belonging to the vehicle manufacturer. The vehicle comprises necessary communications equipment in order to establish the communication with the handheld device and also to initiate the measures which the user of the handheld device inserts or which are automatically generated in connection with the establishment of the connection.
There are examples of wireless control of connection of different functions for a vehicle, and a number of these are discussed briefly below.
US-20100233957 describes how near field communication (NFC) may be used to transmit data from a mobile telephone to a car. The information transmitted is personal data, so that the car is adjusted according to personal requirements. The document describes how the steering wheel, the drivers seat and the rear-view mirrors, etc. may be adjusted.
US-20110234379 describes a system which may automatically send information between a mobile telephone and another device. Also in this case, near field communication is used.
US-20110237186 describes a system which is able to send information between e.g. a mobile telephone and a vehicle.
These documents essentially describe how to use near field communication (NFC) to transmit some form of data between e.g. a mobile telephone and a vehicle.
In the case of a larger vehicle fleet with more than one or a couple of vehicles, it may sometimes be difficult to know to which vehicle to connect the mobile handheld device. There is a risk of connecting it to the wrong vehicle or not knowing to which vehicle to connect the device.
Also, the input of a vehicle's identification data may be time-consuming and complicated, especially if there is a large number of vehicles to choose from, since you need to know the specific vehicle's identification data.
In order for it to be useful to use a mobile handheld devices connected to a random vehicle in a vehicle fleet, the identification of different individual vehicles and the connection must be simple and secure to complete, so that a successful connection to the correct individual vehicle is always achieved.
The objective of the present invention is to achieve a simplified pairing and connection with a given vehicle, without having to insert vehicle-related identification data in the handheld device.